Eugene s



E, S. CALDWELL.

AUTOMATIC VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17, 1915.

1 1 9%,? 1 Q. Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

5 J 9 17 WITNESSES: 74 INVENTOR. L

ATTORNZI VS.

EUGENE S. CALDWELL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC VALVE.

Application filed March 17, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE S. CALDWELL,

' a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadel phia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Valves, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of automatic valves in which the valve is operated by an expansion and contraction of a thermostatic device such for instance as a sealed tube containing volatile fluid as in that Wellknown form of automatic valve which is employed for automatically drawing off the water of condensation condensed from the steam employed in steam-heating systems.

The object of my invention is to provide a construction of apparatus and a mounting of the working parts and adjusting mechanism such that the parts maybe readily reassembled or dis-assembled and renewals may be readily made in case of damage to the valve itself or other conditions requiring that the working parts be taken down or removed from their position in the valve casing.

A further object is to provide a construction which will meet the requirements of valves of this class under working or oper ating conditions and which can be cheaply manufactured and easily assembled.

Other advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the subjoined description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in the novel construction and details of apparatus hereinafter described and more particularly specified in the claims. I

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan of the device with the cap or cover removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section through the casing or housing and cap therefor, the working parts being shown principally in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical central section through the valve mechanism and parts supporting the same. Fig. 4 shows in side view one end of the operat ing thermostat.

1 indicates the valve casing or housing and 2 a cover or cap detachable to permit the removal of the thermostatic tube 3.

4 is the outlet through which the waters of condensation are discharged when the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11 15, 1916. Serial No. 15,142.

valve head or valve proper 5 recedes from the valve seat formed by bushing G, which is set in the inlet provided with suitable coupling or connection for attachment of the device to the radiator or steam-heating system.

The housing or casing l is provided on its interior with projections 7 separated from oneanother to afford a space in which an uprlght portion of the thermostatic tube is seated and guided, being thereby held in central position.

8 is a bridge or support on the interior of the housing and running preferably from side to side thereof. Said bridge affords a support for a mounting 9 of any suitable construction carrying the valve proper and the adjusting devices. Said mounting is composed preferably of a sleeve which sets in a horizontal opening in the bridge 8 and is removably fixed in position therein by means of a set or cap screw 10 the rounded end of which enters an opening bored partially through the mounting as shown. The position of the mounting in the bridge is determined by the flange or stop 11 at one end thereof, which brings up against the edge of the opening, when the mounting or sleeve 9 is slipped into place. The valve which closes the outlet froni the steam system by being seated upon the seat 6 is provided with a suitable guide stem 13.

l l is an adjusting screw threaded for engagement with a correspondingly threaded portion of the sleeve or mounting 9 and having its head arranged in line with an opennormally closed by the cap nut 15. Preferably the screw engages with an internal screw thread suitably tapped in the mounting as shown. has a bore which receives and supports and forms a guide for the valve stem 13. Preferably said bore extends through the screw from end to end to prevent the accumulation of dirt behind the stem and any consequent interference with the proper operation of the valve. It is also preferable to make the valve stem 13 of hexagonal or other polygonal shape, thus reducing contact and friction as well as permitting grit and dirt to be washed out from around the stem. The screw is provided with a groove formed between the head of the screw and the flange 16 to receive the forked head or end of the expansion tube 3. The opposite forked Said adjusting screw head or end of the said tube is received in a similar groove formed between the head of the valve and a flange 17 on the valve stem.

The cap nut 15 closes an opening in the side of the valve casing through which the mounting 9, carrying the valve mechanism proper and the adjusting device, may be removed bodily after the cap or set screw 10 is loosened and after the expansion tube has been lifted to free the forks from engagement with the valve mechanism. \Vhen the parts are re-assembled the mounting or sleeve 9 is pushed in until the flange 11 engages the bridge, and the set screw 10 is then turned down to fix the parts in position. Obviously, the work of dismantling or removing the parts for renewal of a defective valve and the restoration of the parts to proper position may be accomplished without disturbing the adjustment primarily made by the use of the adjusting screw 11- for the purpose of adjusting the mechanism to allow for differences in the distance or separation of the forked heads of the thermostatic tube and so as to adjust the valve to secure the most sensitive action. As will be seen also, the adjusting screw being located wholly within the interior space of the casing, is only accessible for adjustment by the insertion of a tool in serted after removal of the cap nut 15. This protects the device against meddling by unauthorized persons desiring to change the adjustment, whereas in the ordinary constructions heretofore employed the removal of the cap nut over the adjusting screw seated in a boss in the side of the casing leaves said screw exposed and liable to be tampered with.

The head of the tube or thermostat 3 at its point of engagement with the head 5 of the valve is provided with a round headed or similar projection 18 giving a point of engagement between the thermostat and valve which permits a slight rocking of the thermostat end at its point of engagement in all directions and obviates any tendency of the valve or other parts to bind during the operation under the action of the thermostat. The thermostat also engages, by preference, with the adjusting screw by a similar rounded pin or projection 18 to obviate any tendency of the parts to bind in the adjusting or other action of the apparatus.

What I claim as my invention is 1. An automatic thermostatically operated valve having the entire valve-operating and adjusting mechanism carried by a mounting that is removably fixed on an in- Gopies of this patent may ternal transverse bridge or support extending transversely to the line of movement of the valve, said mounting with the entire valveoperating and adjusting mechanism carried thereby being removable as a whole from said bridge.

2. In an automatic thermostatically controlled valve, the combination with an in ternal supporting bridge, of a threaded mounting detachably secured in said bridge and a valve and adjusting screw therefor carried by said mounting, said screw being adapted to engage the mounting to adjust the valve.

8. In an automatic thermostatic valve, the combination with an internal supporting bridge, of a sleeve mounted in a horizontal opening therein, an adjusting screw set in said sleeve and provided with means for engagement by one end of the thermostatic tube, and a valve provided with a valve stem working in a bore in said screw, said valve being constructed for engagement by the opposite end of said thermostatic tube or device.

4. In an automatic thermostatically operated valve, the combination with a casing having a valve seat mounted in one side thereof and an opening in line therewith in the opposite side of the casing, of a valve and adjusting screw therefor, a transverse supporting bridge provided with means for supporting both the valve and its adjusting screw wholly within the casing with the end of the screw in line with the opening in the side of the casing and a cap nut or screw closing said opening whereby an adjustment of the valve is permissible only by removal of the cap screw and insertion of a tool into the interior of the casing.

5. In an automatic thermostatic valve, the combination of a trap casing, a valve and valve seat for said valve, a thermostat for operating said valve, an adjusting screw having a bore extending through the same from end to end and mounted entirely within the casing and a. valve stem polygonal in cross-section and mounted and guided in said bore, said screw having one end located opposite an opening in the valve casing to permit it to be adjusted by a tool inserted through said opening.

Signed at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, this 19th day of February, A. D. 1915.

EUGENE S. GALDIVELL.

Witnesses F. M. FINK, I-IowARn T. Berna.

Washington. D. G. 

